Monthly Archives:March 2018

Jan

Just half an hour away drive from Chiusi, who would have thought that there’s this rare retreat boutique hotel at the hilltop village? Monteverdi Tuscany has done an amazing job in restoring the village by maintaining the original framework of stone shell.

Every room and suite has its own design aesthetic and characteristic. This rustic and contemporary village suite that I stayed in combines the elements of wood, brass and iron.

The slender frames of brass that built the bed frame has added spice to the journey. It is such a statement piece of the suite which you wouldn’t miss out. The materials used are irregular, rustic and minimal at the same time.

Another statement piece in the suite, is definitely the free standing copper bath. I spent 3 nights having a nice hot bath with a glass of Italian wine (and snacks). It was just the perfect way to spend a cozy night after a day of exploring.

Monteverdi Tuscany has one of the best spa I have ever visited. Apart from the great selection of the treatments, the stone walls restoration gives a very nice touch to the place. The serenity pool has a big window that allows you to look out to the hilltop mountain view, which is absolutely breathtaking!

The location of Monteverdi Tuscany is amazing as it is in the middle of Florence and Rome. You can easily make a day trip to Rome/Florence within a couple of hours. Meantime, you have the luxury of privacy and peace on the hilltop with one of the best view in Tuscany!

Please visit Monteverdi Tuscany for more information on the luxury boutique hotel and book it for your Tuscany trip! For those who are looking for an escape from the city and looking for serenity, this will take your breath away the moment you arrives!

Jul

As a professional/small business owner, home office plays such a big part of my life. I spend more than half of my time in the small room with my laptop and stationery. However, I always wanted to find a way to make use of the small room and turn my personal workspace to a more inviting space, where I can enjoy my work and also use the other half of the room to relax. I wanted something simple and effective, hence Hübsch unique design managed to meet my needs. I have successfully combine their beautifully crafted furniture and set up my ideal workspace.

The most important element in this set up is their PARTITION. I wanted to use this oak partition to divide the small room into two areas, where I can separate my workspace and create a semi-private space. While maintaining the view to my window, you can move the partition to different place to block any view as you wish, but the gaps in between the bars still give you limited view. I like it as it makes me feel somehow private whilst not stranded.

Using the bamboo coat hook is great for styling as well as serving a purpose. I can use it for bags, umbrella, wireless speaker, coat, hanging plant pot and more! The imagination is infinite and you can use it to suit your need, and of course, be creative about it! The terracotta lamp has a lovely matte surface that gives your fingers a joy to touch, the shape itself is enough to make a statement in this office.

The magazine holder and storage box are both made with oak and the quality is excellent. The texture gives it a simple and beautiful finish. You can hide away the mess with the storage box and use the top tier to show off your collection of stationery. I have a slight obsession with concrete and brass combination. These concrete desk organisers are the perfect home for your precious stationery. To soften up my minimal furniture that has unique shapes and hard material/structure, I have chosen the light grey chair with seat covered in fabric. The soft fabrics will complement the strong pieces in the workspace.

The oak desk with grey top has immaculate and masculine shape in my opinion that fits really with with my personal aesthetic. The leg structure is rounded and I like how Hübsch plays with the shape for their furniture to create the Nordic design. I have chosen the Bamboo baskets to match the stripes of the partition.

Create a neat and inviting workspace, this will increase your efficiency and also motivation! I definitely enjoy my workspace more than ever, it has became a room that I look forward to go into.

Please visit Hübsch for more information about the furniture and fill your home with some unique pieces. Check out their full collection here!

Apr

It was an unusual feeling the moment I walked into Riad Snan13, it was almost magical. I was welcomed by the utmost serenity and tranquility with the calm pool and clean interior design.

I also love the touch of pale peach roses in the bowl. It’s one of the cutest decorative home accessory I’ve seen for a long time.

If you want to indulge yourself with the discreet essence of the rich culture of Marrakech, Riad Snan13 would be perfect for you. The interior design of Riad Snan13 is more monochromatic in comparison to most of the riad’s rich colours & decoration such as bold paintings and patterned tiles.

The hanging Moraccan lamp shade gives a bold statement in the monochromatic beige room complementing the simplicity of the interior of the Le Petit Patio. From the wooden stool to the brass mirror, Riad Snan13 enjoys playing with the materials and shapes of furniture rather than their pattern.

I was in love with the turquoise colour (with grey tone) of their doors and windows too in the entire riad too. They complement so well with everything else that somehow give the surrounding a calming factor.

This is definitely my favourite lounging area in the riad. I like the music that the host plays too! I’ve spent quite some time in this space for my editing – it was so calming indeed! The statement GIANT lamp shade plus the bold chairs with pop of colourful cushions – some serious styling skill here!

There is a roof top dining area where the breakfast will be served to enjoy the morning sun too!

Or if you want to read a book on a day bed instead? 🙂

Please visit Riad Snan13 for more information on the hotel and book it for your Marrakech trip! For those who love monochromatic interior design and searching for tranquility in Marrakech, this is your choice!

Mar

Marrakech is a busy city surrounded by narrow and bustling streets (and slightly dangerous too with their impatient motorcyclists), but you will never guess what’s behind the door of each building. It seemed ordinary when I arrived at the door front of Riad Mena, but after walking through it and passing the corridors, it took me to the interior design heaven in Marrakech, Morocco.

The giant trees and plants made it the best courtyard I have ever been to. The moment I walked into the Grant Suite, I was shocked by the size of the entire space. It was huge but I certainly did not feel emptiness in the room with the strategically organized furniture and decorations. One of my favourite pieces were the giant olive green bedside table lamps that give a nice touch to the predominantly white room.

I love the Menzeh in this Grand Suite overlooking the gorgeous courtyard. I took a nap there after having a glass of the Moroccan mint tea (with sugar!). It was rather relaxing afternoon for me – after a long day of photoshoot.

One of the coolest design feature in this Grand Suite at Riad Mena is the shelving units on the wall. The robust and raw aesthetic go well with any decorative accessories and books. And there are plenty of sitting area for you to read a book (or two) too!

What’s better than having a relaxing bath to compose yourself after a long day of travelling? And top it up by opening the doors that lead you to your private terrace – all by yourself!

Riad Mena also has a pool for you to have your morning swim or to cool down in the day surrounded by beautiful plants!

My first visit in Marrakech, Morocco has been amazing especially to start my journey in this gorgeous Riad Mena with the excellency in hospitality. The founder of Riad Mena, Philomena Schurer Merckoll has managed to transform this traditional Moroccan house into a modern boutique hotel that consists of 7 very stylish rooms. I would be visiting again in the future without a doubt!

Please visit Riad Mena for more information on the hotel and book it for your Marrakech trip! For those who love interior design and a bit of luxury, this is your choice! P/S: I love the aubergine and Lamb Tagine served by Riad Mena – make sure you request that to try!

Feb

Smartwatch has been in around for quite awhile and I have always wanted to experience one myself but I haven’t came across a design that I am interested in until recently when SKAGEN introduced me to their new collection of SKAGEN Falster Smartwatch. I must admit that I am not a gadget enthusiast but I do love watches. Thus, the fact that SKAGEN Falster Smartwatch combines technology with stylish design fascinates me and I made a trip to see how this new stylish smartwatch becomes my new helpful assistant.

The very first perk that I realized is that I can receive notifications/messages from my WhatsApp and emails. I can prioritise my important messages while enjoying my brunch before my meetings. So don’t blame me if I don’t reply all of the messages when I have a busy day ahead! The bonus is that I can see the messages and the senders wouldn’t know that I’ve read them! 😛 Yes, it is also a touchscreen smartwatch!

I love the minimal design of this smartwatch, its simplicity goes well with any of my outfit. This collection comes with interchangeable leather straps or mesh straps. I never wanted a smartwatch that would make me look geeky and this is definitely not one of those!

I do use a fitness tracker when I hit the gym (especially when I’m doing the cardio exercises) but I never wore it casually because they don’t really look the part with my outfits or for my meetings. But now I can finally track my steps/calories burnt for the day while keeping my outfit on point. I’m not sorry to be a perfectionist! It helps my performance when I dress well, therefore every small detail is vital for me. This intelligent device would definitely make me fitter over time as I can set my own goal for the daily steps – no more excuse for not walking my doggie!

I love a power nap on a busy day, or whenever I get the chance. I always use my phone to set the alarm but the phone has always been a distraction (even during my sleep time in the night) as I have the tendency to wake up and check my phone apps. Now this is a handy little tool to wake me up from my nap with its vibrating function.

There are other features of the SKAGEN Falster Smartwatch such as the world clock with different time-zones and music control. I love the weather forecast display where I can check the weather/temperature before I head out. I’m quite a lazy person when it comes to checking weather before I go out and I always regret for not doing so as I wouldn’t take my umbrella out on a rainy day! It’s much more convenient to have it on a default display with the smartwatch. In addition, I can also personalize the watch face with my choice of dial colour or font colour according to my mood/outfit! It is actually very fun and refreshing to see it happening with a single watch.

Jan

Who else here would hang up their clothes in a hotel wardrobe? I hope that I ain’t the only one! It makes me feel good and cozy to organize my belongings in a hotel always as it feels like I’ve already settled in – especially in such a neat design room. This minimal monochromatic design wardrobe belongs to Hotel Mono in Singapore.

The moment I walked into Hotel Mono, Singapore – a modern boutique hotel that is located closely to Chinatown. Who would have thought this chic and modern hotel is hidden in the historical building? The entrance was simple and yet made an impressive first impression on me when the transparent automated door was opened.

Going through the lounging areas in between floors were like a minimalist playground. The interior design is basic but filled with stylish and modern furniture. And of course, everything is monochrome.

As featured in Cereal’s city guide in Singapore, Hotel Mono definitely stood out from the crowd. This stairway to minimalist heaven in their Loft Room took my breath away – the main reason I wanted to stay there too! This generous Loft room offers great space with 2 beds – one on the ground and another on an elevated floor level within the room. Isn’t that cool?! It’s great for families or group of friends of 4 in my opinion. But being the selfish me, I wanted it all for myself!

The choice of furniture or any structural/building design accessories in Hotel Mono is simple, monochromatic and strong. The design principal is compositional and also symmetrical in a way. Each design piece is carefully curated from the wall lamp, flooring to the shower gel container. Did you notice the Rococo-era windows in this building? They are so characteristic and seem unreal to exist in such a modern city.

Having a monochromatic bedroom in my own house myself, I am actually inspired by Hotel Mono where I would definitely adopt some of the design aspect in my next house – when I can design and build my own house. This black metal stairway is definitely something that I would love to have at my home. There’s a new vision in every angle of the room through the stairway, just like my life perspective. It gives you inspiration each time when you observe, and opens up your imagination and creativity.

Please visit Hotel Mono for more information on the hotel and book it for next visit in Singapore. There’s also a bakery shop that sells very good egg tart too! It’s called Tong Heng – make sure you try their egg tart!

Jan

Rattan chair, plunge pool and tropical plants – Are these the complete package for a cool summer vacation in The Slow, Canggu, Bali? If you haven’t been to Canggu in Bali, you should start planning your next summer trip here! I have been to Seminyak, Bali in the past, but Canggu beat that in my opinion. The crowd in Canggu is young and free – probably due to the surfers in the town. There are many hidden minimalistic cafes (check out Quince Cafe!) and boutiques with artsy interior design too. It’s like a little minimalist heaven in Bali.

The Slow impressed me by their appreciation of art and interior design. Each piece of furniture is carefully selected – at least that’s how I felt it. Each piece of the furniture in the hotel or room has great details and beautifully crafted, either a stool by the bar in the restaurant, the bench in the hallway or the in-house DJ booth. The aesthetic of furniture are all complementary of each other in terms of vibe.

The moment I arrived in the Pool Suite, there were cool jams already playing in the room’s built in speaker. There’s no television in the room/hotel, one of the great concept for visitors like me who need to take things slow and stay away from the distraction on holiday. Who needs a television in this type of environment anyway?

Always start your day with high protein breakfast (Charred fish and noodles – as seen in the image above) and a swim to kick off the holiday.

‘Rainforest’ shower to cool you down in the tropical heat hey! The bench in the shower is so zen!

My favourite part of the day in the Pool Suite is to read a book on the day bed. One of my resolution in 2018 is to take things slower definitely as I had very hectic lifestyle from 2016 since the start of new business. So having the chance of to chill and read is a treat for me in this holiday! And it’s blissful to be surrounded by so much greeneries!

You can also spend a bit of time walking around the hotel to enjoy their arts on walls. Plenty of great photography work from different artists. Definitely something not to miss! They all tell great stories.

There are many sofas and benches in the hotel where you can just sit and chill – have a coffee and share your memories with your friends – or do some people watching perhaps like I did! It’s pretty inspiring. I love the details of the furniture in The Slow as they are all unique and I love the handcrafted quality of it from cushion to woodwork.

The Slow Restaurant is also as chic as the hotel itself. As I mentioned before, the attention to details of design is amazing in The Slow. The ceramic plates and wooden utensils or bowls are all handcrafted too. I enjoyed the drinks in The Slow as they have great selection of mixed fruit/vegetable juices – all served in The Slow labelled bottles!

If you want to catch a bit of sun on the roof top in The Slow, make sure you bring a bottle of beer or their fruit juice to cool you down! It’s a cute place to hang around with your mates!

Please visit The Slow for more information on the hotel and book it for your next summer trip! If you want to take it slow, this is the place. P/S: The internet reception in the room is poor – definitely stop you from spending time on phone too!

May

Summer is approaching (finally!) and I have been looking out for lightweight skinny fit suits with unique textures. Linen suit has always been my top choice in the Spring/Summer until recently when I came across with this gorgeous woven seersucker suit from River Island. They have just arrived in perfect time as I have a couple of weddings to attend in a couple of months! What I love about the seersucker fabric in comparison with linen is the smoother touch but still remains the wrinkled and puckered appearance which works so well with summer. It is the new modern essential in my opinion, everyone should own a seersucker suit.

I love this new suiting collection from River Island as the fitting is unbelievably well if not perfect, well it is close to perfection for a ready-made suit. I compared it with my made to measure suit and the result is not far-off! Not many brands able to achieve this and they actually carry the jackets in 3 different sleeves length of the same chest size in short, regular and long. I am wearing Size 34 in short, and it fits me like a glove! The same applies to the trousers! This is a wow-factor for me as you are only paying for the ready-made price but in return you are getting very well fitted suit. Unless you are a model, otherwise you will understand the struggle when it comes to buying ready-made suiting! To make it slightly more interesting, I have also gone for the double breasted jacket as it looks more suave and opulent.

You can easily dress it up with a button up shirt and a tie like I do, or simply pair it with a white T-shirt for smart casual. Most importantly, you need to have fun with the styling! It’s a summer wedding after all. I have added a pocket square and a tie in stone colour with navy polka dots to go with the suit. I love the earthy tone of the accessories to make it more fun and yet relevant. If you are someone who loves bright colours, I would suggest you to accessorise the suit with bolder colours such as red, green or even burnt orange. These stone suede loafers with tassels from River Island are great for the summer too with a pair of no-show socks.

You can see the wrinkled/puckered texture from the close up image above. And the thin striped fabric also gives it an understated charm as supposed to plain navy suit. I have also chosen a penny collar shirt for this very special occasion because I find it less corporate especially with a tie.

Apr

L’Atelier Bicester Village is a new watch and jewellery boutique in Bicester Village that offers amazing selections of luxury and finest brands such as Theo Fennell, Baume & Mercier, Georg Jensen, Corum, Rotary, Tolkowsky, Dreyfuss, LeVian, Leo Diamond, Eterna and many more.

There are so many luxury brands that I love from L’Atelier, but I always shop smart and prioritize my need (or want) first. Therefore I have picked my favourite brand, Georg Jensen from the wide range of choices – it was a tough choice when there are so many beautifully crafted timepieces and jewellery. Most importantly, all of these timepieces are being sold at the VILLAGE PRICE! This is how I managed to PAY LESS and GET MORE in value! Carry on reading to find out the huge price difference cause you don’t want to miss that!

The minimalism of Georg Jensen timepieces is great for casual and smart attire. I have chosen the Georg Jensen Koppel 41mm with Automatic movement. It has a date indicator and it is Swiss Made, with international warranty that is perfect for anyone who visits from other countries! This would make a nice gift too without a doubt. The recommended retail price for this exact timepiece is £1440 in comparison with the village price at L’Atelier of £720! That is a generous discount of 50%. Yes, now you can hold your jaw together.

The interior of L’Atelier is simple and opulent. There’s a luxurious and exclusive lounging area for the customers to get some inspiration and also trying out their chosen jewellery/watches.

The luxury watch brands includes Rotary, Baume Mercier, Corum, Georg Jensen, Dreyfuss & Co, Eterna, Raymond Weil, and Maurice Lacroix. I had my eyes on several watches from Baume Mercier and Maurice Lacroix too, hence I probably will be visiting again to grab another timepiece from them! It’s simply too difficult to resist when all of these brands offer such a great discount up to 60%! The saving itself is enough for me to buy another luxury watch to add into my collection.

I am obsessed with the thin black and blue hands of this Georg Jensen Koppel 41mm watch, which I think it’s also suitable for women due to its unisex aesthetic. The transparent case back displays the beauty of the Swiss automatic movement with 25 Jewels. The convex, double curve Sapphire crystal dial face gives perfect clarity of the appearance in any dimension.

The entire luxury shopping experience was such a joy especially they have an amazing team that is very friendly, helpful, and most importantly – knowledgeable. I can’t wait to gift the presents to my family on their birthdays.

Sep

This autumn, River Island presents a curated series of timeless styling essentials that transcend trend. These premium essentials are great for every man’s wardrobe from head to toe.

I’ve selected a few classics that will transform your wardrobe with style and versatility. They are turtle neck jumper, wash jeans, white sneakers, bomber jacket and smart coat.

With the very same outfit but different jackets, you will see the distinction of street style & smart casual aesthetic.

Roll neck jumper is great for casual or smart wear that transforms your image to a fresh perspective. You can also adjust the length of the roll neck to your preference which also changes the vibe of your outfit. You will notice two different lengths of the roll neck in two of my outfits.

Bomber jacket is a MUST for the Autumn (and Spring too). The dark green padded MA1 bomber jacket from River Island is great as all day outfit. It is great for the Autumn weather and it’s very comfortable and lightweight. Bomber jacket will never go out in fashion too. You can match it with T-shirt, button up shirt, knitwear and sweater – basically anything and everything! This also applies to the Tan smart overcoat, and the only difference is a smart coat gives you a smart look instead of too casual if you would like to impress someone in your first date! By pairing a smart coat with jeans and sneakers will make a great impression if you don’t want to be too dressed up for the occasion, you are just dressing down in a smart way.

Everyone needs a pair of dark wash jeans as they go well with pretty much every piece of clothing you own in your existing wardrobe. I like the fitting of these Dylan slim fit jeans because they are not as tight as skinny jeans but the cutting of the jeans is excellent.

The last but not least, white sneaker is also an all time classic in fashion. I find white sneaker is such an ease to match with any outfits, and at the same time it also makes the whole look clean and sleek. But be sure you look after your white sneakers! I always keep mine spotless – or I try!

Want the chance to win yourself a wardrobe of essentials from STYLE STAPLES? Tell me what your Style Staple is on Instagram and a winner will be chosen on the 16th September 2016 to win a River Island gift voucher worth £200.